Chess
by PatientNumber10
Summary: It was her favorite sport, for some reason or another.


Disclaimer: I don't own AiW~

**Chess**

"How strange that child is..."

"Indeed. Is it true, the rumors?"

"Yes, Kingsley denied having taught her the sport."

"How very strange..."

"I'd wager they taught the girl secretly, so their child would be called a genius."

"Could be."

The "friends" of the Kingsleys went silent as they watched, and doubted, the chess match between a little girl and a fully grown man. White was crushing black as if some sort of miniature representation of good defeating evil.

The little girl was called Alice. She was white. She always played white. And she always played with wavering resolve, often unsure whether what she was doing was right. Everyone just seemed so surprised about her, that she could play chess like an adult. But anyone could play chess, right?

Her challenger moved his rook so that it could eat Alice's queen if she moved the knight to capture his bishop that stood between Alice and a check. He was distraught about how Alice always paid close attention to her queen, using it to flatten his forces to the ground, giving it more protection the most important piece, yet strangely throwing his strategy off. It was somewhat reckless but quite fitting for a girl five years of age.

Alice saw the danger, but if she moved her queen, it would be captured but the black king can be easily captured then, and if she didn't move it she won't be able to catch the black king and her own king will be in danger. She still had one free knight that can come to the queen's rescue but then the knight would be eaten...

Alice looked up at her competitor's face. He was looking intently at her. Alice looked back down to her queen and then moved the free knight, thinking how real knights who would do anything to save their kings and queens.

The crowd around them murmured. Alice heard a lot of things. He should have moved his rook... No, it was all right to move it... Yes, he was already beaten when he put his king there... Checkmate... Checkmate... Checkmate...

"Checkmate?" Alice asked and surveyed the board. "But it isn't yet. Look, you can still move that pawn and..."

Her challenger sighed and stood up, shaking his head. He looked so happy for someone who lost. But then again, that meant he wasn't a bad sport.

"You lost, my friend," said another man from the crowd. "You were too focused on little Alice's queen."

"Just as planned," the man whispered.

"Yes, just as planned." He grinned and turned to Alice, crouching down. " Tell me, my dear, why didn't you move your queen when moving it could have ended the game much faster?"

The crowd grew quiet, waiting for her reply.

Alice gulped. Why did they always stared at her?

"Er... I just wanted―I just wanted to protect the queen that's all," she said shyly. "Because I didn't want it to get..."

She had trailed off because everyone had began gawking intensely at her as if she'd said something really odd. Everybody gawked, except the two men who stood out from the rest. They seemed quite happy and content with her answer.

"Of course, you did, of course! Oh, Alice, you're such an honest girl!" said the man who was crouching down. He had a wide grin, wider than anyone Alice had seen.

"Yes," said her former challenger, adjusting his funny hat on his head. "And quite adorable, too."

The man with the wide grin chuckled and bid everyone goodbye. He patted Alice's head before leaving with his friend who wore the funny hat.

Alice touched her head and smiled. They were nice people, she thought. She hoped she could see them again.

― ― ― ― ―

"Chess, let's play chess," said Alice, smiling at her silly sentence.

"Oh, that rhymes!" Tarrant said before sipping his tea.

"Of course, it does; it's the same word, you twit," Chess said as he floated across Alice, who was reaching for the chess pieces laid before them on the table.

"All right, Chess," Alice said cheerfully, "start the game."

Chess turned to the board. "What's this? You're playing black?"

"That seems rather unusual," the hatter commented, a little worried. "You're going to betray your favorite chess piece?" he asked with humor.

"Just for now," said Alice. She smiled mysteriously.

Chess and Tarrant looked slightly disturbed. Alice had never played black before. She had even said that she didn't like black and that she'd never betray the her beloved white queen. And 'white queen' meant a lot of things to her. Both of them knew how Alice had always pretended the chess piece was the same as the real thing. She'd always defend it first; the White Queen was her first priority, in game and in real life. Alice adored the White Queen, she loved her. However, now...

"Why, if I may ask?" Tarrant said, tugging at his cravat as he watched Alice's fingers tap impatiently.

If she can't commit herself to the object that represented her love, didn't that mean she could betray the real thing as well?

"I want to capture her," Alice said, a wicked light flashing across her eyes. "Conquer her," Alice smirked, her thoughts surfacing on her face. They weren't bad thoughts, but then again they weren't so good as well. "I'll eat her..."

Understanding dawned on Chess and Tarrant, and embarrassment bloomed in their chests. Alice―how bold of her to say it like that. Chess was the first to recover. He grinned madly as the usual innocence of Alice's face returned.

"Then, you'd better prepare yourself. I am the best chess player in Underland," Chess drawled. "It's my namesake after all."

"I know," Alice said, smiling. "You're like the white queen's big guard cat!"

Then, they played. Chess had a hard time believing that he was losing.

"Alice, promise us something."

"What is it, hatter?"

"After beating Chess, please don't let Her Majesty suffer by keeping her waiting."

"Don't worry, that's exactly what I intended to do. I won't let her suffer," Alice captured Chess's queen and lifted it up near her lips. "because I am the White Queen's champion," she smiled. "Checkmate, Chess."

**A/N:** Yes... Did it ever occur to anyone whether Alice was good at chess? I apologize for the chess match description in the beginning. I know how to play chess, but I'm not very good, so I apologize if I've offended people who knows which piece is supposed to be sacrificed to win. But in the story, Alice acts as though her queen is the king, so I don't know how she keeps winning. She just does.


End file.
